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Click on the image to listen to the International Staff Songsters sing ‘You Know I love you’ from the musical ‘Jesus Folk’
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In the musical, Simon Peter kneels before his risen Lord by the Lake of Galilee. In this song He confesses his failings- his shame at letting Jesus down at the time of the crucifixion – and pleads to be recalled to his Master’s service. He also answers three times the Lord’s insistent question. ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ as recorded in John21: 15-17.
I finished ‘Pause for Thought Part 1 with these questions.
‘Were the disciples prepared for what happened next?’
‘Were they ready for another new –normal life changing experience?’
Were they prepared and ready for the next chapter in their lives? Obviously not, even though Jesus spoke many times about what was going to happen to Him, that He would be killed at the hands of evil men, the disciples in their naivety thought they would be able to protect Him and prevent this from happening. They were so slow of heart to believe and accept what Jesus was telling them, so when their Master was arrested, tried and crucified, these ardent followers were at a loss what to do. Some ran away, Peter denied Him, others followed at a distance, they were so afraid that they took refuge behind locked doors.
Their hearts were broken, so what did they do next; they went back to what they knew best...fishing!!. But something wasn’t right, their hearts were not in it now, it wasn’t normal anymore. They were grieving so much that when they heard the news that ‘Jesus was alive’ and when He presented Himself to them on the shoreline, they were so overwhelmed emotionally. Can you imagine these heartbroken disciples jumping out of the boat with tears streaming down their faces because their Master, the One they had invested their whole life in, who they thought was dead, was now presenting Himself to them very much alive; .Forgiveness was asked for and given.. Peter was reinstated and presented with a new life-challenge.
But this was not the end, things were going to be so different from now on. These special disciples of Jesus taken out of obscurity three years before, were now being presented with an even bigger challenge that of taking the Message, as taught by Jesus, to the whole world. I ask the question again...Were they ready for another new-normal life-style?
Most of the chosen disciples were so eager now to get on with the job, but there were some who were not sure about risking themselves totally; they were told by Jesus that they had to learn to be patient and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will give them the right words to say and show them the direction they must go and above everything else, they must follow His leadings. This was the charge of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 28: 18-20.
‘Jesus undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge. ‘God authorised and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right to the end of the age.’ (Message Paraphrase).
What a re-assuring promise for these disciples.
What about us in these present times, when our lives have had to be restructured and that which used to be the normal way to live, has suddenly taken a dramatic turn around and we find ourselves living a new-normal kind of life-style, many of us behind closed doors for fear of the virus. Having to adapt to this new-normal has not been without its frustrations and questions, because we still don’t know or understand what direction this new-normal life will take us.
What is more important is how we cope with this new-normal life and how we should deal with it? Can I personally claim the promise that Jesus gave to His disciples? Is His Presence with me every step of the path I am taking just now? Yes 100% guaranteed He is with each of us just as He promised, every step, every hurdle, every crisis, every fear, every doubt, every uncertainty.
Here are some questions that we must ask ourselves.
‘What does the Lord want to teach me in this new-normal life-style?’
‘What am I learning about the Lord and about myself and others during this lock-down?’
‘Am I reaching out in new ways to others?’
‘Will life ever be the same and will I ever be the same?’
‘Will I be more kind and more understanding of others?’
I finish with some words that I found on Facebook and which challenged me so much that I felt led to share them with you.
“God is not shocked or surprised by the state of the world just now.
His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts.
He is not at a loss what to do.
Nothing is impossible to Him.
He will pierce the darkness of these days with His glorious light.
He will shine brighter than the fear of death; the economic situation, or the extended lock-down.
He alone can give us Hope, and renewal and refreshment of our mind, our heart and of our body.’
(Listen as the International Staff Songsters sing ‘Compelled by Love’)
I finished ‘Pause for Thought Part 1 with these questions.
‘Were the disciples prepared for what happened next?’
‘Were they ready for another new –normal life changing experience?’
Were they prepared and ready for the next chapter in their lives? Obviously not, even though Jesus spoke many times about what was going to happen to Him, that He would be killed at the hands of evil men, the disciples in their naivety thought they would be able to protect Him and prevent this from happening. They were so slow of heart to believe and accept what Jesus was telling them, so when their Master was arrested, tried and crucified, these ardent followers were at a loss what to do. Some ran away, Peter denied Him, others followed at a distance, they were so afraid that they took refuge behind locked doors.
Their hearts were broken, so what did they do next; they went back to what they knew best...fishing!!. But something wasn’t right, their hearts were not in it now, it wasn’t normal anymore. They were grieving so much that when they heard the news that ‘Jesus was alive’ and when He presented Himself to them on the shoreline, they were so overwhelmed emotionally. Can you imagine these heartbroken disciples jumping out of the boat with tears streaming down their faces because their Master, the One they had invested their whole life in, who they thought was dead, was now presenting Himself to them very much alive; .Forgiveness was asked for and given.. Peter was reinstated and presented with a new life-challenge.
But this was not the end, things were going to be so different from now on. These special disciples of Jesus taken out of obscurity three years before, were now being presented with an even bigger challenge that of taking the Message, as taught by Jesus, to the whole world. I ask the question again...Were they ready for another new-normal life-style?
Most of the chosen disciples were so eager now to get on with the job, but there were some who were not sure about risking themselves totally; they were told by Jesus that they had to learn to be patient and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will give them the right words to say and show them the direction they must go and above everything else, they must follow His leadings. This was the charge of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 28: 18-20.
‘Jesus undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge. ‘God authorised and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right to the end of the age.’ (Message Paraphrase).
What a re-assuring promise for these disciples.
What about us in these present times, when our lives have had to be restructured and that which used to be the normal way to live, has suddenly taken a dramatic turn around and we find ourselves living a new-normal kind of life-style, many of us behind closed doors for fear of the virus. Having to adapt to this new-normal has not been without its frustrations and questions, because we still don’t know or understand what direction this new-normal life will take us.
What is more important is how we cope with this new-normal life and how we should deal with it? Can I personally claim the promise that Jesus gave to His disciples? Is His Presence with me every step of the path I am taking just now? Yes 100% guaranteed He is with each of us just as He promised, every step, every hurdle, every crisis, every fear, every doubt, every uncertainty.
Here are some questions that we must ask ourselves.
‘What does the Lord want to teach me in this new-normal life-style?’
‘What am I learning about the Lord and about myself and others during this lock-down?’
‘Am I reaching out in new ways to others?’
‘Will life ever be the same and will I ever be the same?’
‘Will I be more kind and more understanding of others?’
I finish with some words that I found on Facebook and which challenged me so much that I felt led to share them with you.
“God is not shocked or surprised by the state of the world just now.
His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts.
He is not at a loss what to do.
Nothing is impossible to Him.
He will pierce the darkness of these days with His glorious light.
He will shine brighter than the fear of death; the economic situation, or the extended lock-down.
He alone can give us Hope, and renewal and refreshment of our mind, our heart and of our body.’
(Listen as the International Staff Songsters sing ‘Compelled by Love’)
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Click on the crest to hear The International Staff Songsters sing the song.
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Note: This series of 'Pause for Thought' started on Monday 4th May. To find these previous thoughts go to the Archive section of the website listed under the 'more.....' tab at the top of the page. On the 'Daily Pause for Thought' section of the website we will only keep 2 weeks of contributions before putting them into the Archive.
Can you help?
In this current situation when our church doors are closed to our normal activities but our work to support those in need continues, our normal source of funds (Sunday Tithes and Offerings) have reduced dramatically. We need your help, so that we continue to be ready to meet the ongoing needs of our community that will undoubtedly impact beyond this lock down period. If you are willing to help please visit our Just Giving Page to make a donation to this work. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bedfordsa